The Educational Experience of Raising Butterflies

Parents are always
looking for the coolest, most unusual gifts to
give their kids that the children will love to
receive and that they can learn from. Raising
butterflies is truly an educational experience
that every child will want to do over and over
again.

You can take the
kids on a hike to search for butterfly eggs and
collect them, then make a home for them, being
sure to provide them with the appropriate food
for the caterpillars to eat, something for them
to climb on and make their cocoon, and something
for the butterflies to eat once they emerge.
Make sure you have adequate fresh food growing
nearby for your hungry caterpillars! Punch small
holes in the jar lid, or cover the top with a
fine screen mesh held on with a rubber band.
Keep a damp paper towel in the container.
Frequently clean the cage of frass (droppings).
Replace the food plants as necessary, when the
leaves have been eaten or turn dry. As the newly
hatched caterpillars grow, they will need plenty
of food and space.

OR you can make it
easy on yourself and buy a butterfly
kit to raise Painted Lady Butterflies
(although the hike to find the eggs in their
natural habitat is a good idea, too, just don’t
collect them).

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A video of a Painted Lady Butterfly †

The educational
experience of raising butterflies is something
that your children will never forget. They will
learn about the life
cycle of the butterfly because they will
watch the transformation day by day from the egg
state all the way through the metamorphosis to a
butterfly. Be sure to watch each stage of
butterfly development carefully. You may observe
how the egg changes color before hatching, how
the caterpillar eats and moves, and how it
changes features and perhaps color as it grows.
Check on the pupa often so you can release the
adult outside soon after it emerges. (Biology)

The children will
also learn about the conservation
of butterflies, and they will be helping to
save them. Butterflies are disappearing at an
alarming rate, as are many insects, because of
urban development. There is just no place left
for them to lay their eggs that is safe enough
for the caterpillars to survive, it seems.
Raising butterflies, and then releasing them
into the wild once they transform, is one of the
best ways to help save the species. (Ecology)

Children will be
responsible for cleaning the butterfly house, as
well as making sure that there is enough food
and spritzing the butterfly house regularly
(according to the directions on the Painted Lady
Butterfly kit, if you choose to go that way).
This is a wonderful alternative to, or practice
for, a more permanent kind of pet, like a dog or
a cat. (Responsibility)

Once the butterflies
have emerged from their cocoons, the children
should be allowed to watch them for a day or
two, but the butterflies should be released
within that time so that they can quickly learn
to be on their own in the wild. Also, it should
be noted, that butterflies only have a life span
of a few weeks once they have turned into
butterflies, so it is probably best to make sure
that they are released before their life span
ends. Remember your first goldfish? The death of
any pet is tragic for a child, but the feeling
that they are saving the butterflies is a
wonderful experience and they will be proud of
themselves for letting them go. (A little
growing up)

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At the nature store we have butterflies for sale: several kits for rearing LIVE painted lady butterflies - from 5 to 33 caterpillars! Our kits make Painted Lady
Butterfly rearing EASY - simple directions and
everything you need is included. Ages 4+. A
fun gift for kids and adults, as well as a
great project for home-schoolers and
classrooms.

Lots of
pictures of the stages of the Anise
swallowtail's life cycle; emphasis on
caterpillars and raising them, but
butterfly pics as well. One of the best
written and documented butterfly rearing
sites out there. Also fun to read!!

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